The present invention relates to an elastomeric expansion joint, and in particular, to a sensor for determining a pre-failure condition of the elastomeric expansion joint.
Elastomer (rubber) expansion joints have been specified for many years to accommodate movement in piping runs and insure efficient systems. Elastomer joints are widely used to provide efficient ways to relieve movement stresses, reduce noise, isolate vibration, and compensate for misalignment.
A particular type of elastomer expansion joint is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,321, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Although elastomer expansion joints provide many advantages, over time the elastomeric material of the joint begins to weaken and stiffen or swell, eventually leading to failure of the joint by bursting of the joint.
Although joints could be proactively replaced in advance of failure based on a time-in-service measurement, oftentimes such a measurement results in premature replacement of the joint, at a substantial expense, not just for a new joint and the labor cost to make the replacement, but also due to down time for the piping system that the joint is a part of.
It would be an improvement in the art if there were provided a mechanism for determining an approaching failure condition of the expansion joint, sufficiently in advance of the failure time to allow for routine replacement of the joint, but not so far in advance as to be a premature replacement of a usable joint.